Scottish Police Open Inquiry Into Balmoral Visit By Epstein, Maxwell

Police Scotland said on Friday that it has opened an inquiry into time spent by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands. The force said it received information that prompted the review but declined to specify what offenses are under examination. It described the probe as being at a very early stage and declined to comment further on details of the ongoing inquiries.

The Daily Express first reported the investigation and said it relates to claims that women were trafficked to the king's private estate. Images released by the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to show Epstein and Maxwell on a shooting trip at Balmoral in 1999. Those images were published as part of millions of pages of documents released earlier this year while Congress examined Epstein's ties to politicians and business leaders. A name or image appearing in those files does not establish wrongdoing.

Several other U.K. police forces are also examining material released in the Epstein files, including London's Metropolitan Police Service, Thames Valley Police, and Surrey Police. Thames Valley officers arrested Mountbatten-Windsor in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office based on information released in those files. He was held for several hours before being released on police bail pending further investigation. The force covers the area west of London that includes Windsor Castle.

Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, is King Charles III's younger brother. His links to Epstein have drawn scrutiny for almost two decades. Virginia Giuffre alleged in 2011 that she had been trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with him when she was 17. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

With U.S. authorities preparing to release documents related to their investigation into Epstein, the king late last year stripped his brother of his princely title and ordered him to move out of the Royal Lodge. Mountbatten-Windsor now lives in a house at Sandringham, the king's estate in eastern England. He has repeatedly denied committing any crimes. He gave a lengthy BBC interview in 2019 that drew criticism over his explanations of his behavior and his response to Epstein's victims.